Tevin Geike, 20, a soldier from Joint Base Lewis McChord, died from his injuries on Oct. 5 after he was stabbed. / KIRO TV 7

by Doug Stanglin and Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Doug Stanglin and Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Three soldiers in Washington state were arrested Monday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old soldier from South Carolina, police said.

Spc. Tevin A. Geike, an aviation operations specialist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, died early Saturday while walking with two other soldiers in Lakewood, near Tacoma. Police said he was knifed after five men in a passing car yelled an insult to the three soldiers, and one responded, The News Tribunereported.

Police said they had not determined why one suspect "bear hugged" and stabbed Geike, of Summerville, S.C., as the five returned to their car after determining the trio were also soldiers.

The suspects are to be charged Tuesday. The alleged stabber is 23 years old, and the other two suspects are 21, police said.

The role of the two other soldiers in the car was still being investigated.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said detectives had determined "there was only one individual who stabbed the victim," according toThe Seattle Times.

The primary suspect told a friend that he cut his hand when he "stabbed a guy to death over the weekend," then claimed he injured himself slicing vegetables, said Lt. Chris Lawler, the News Tribune reported. The friend later informed his sergeant, who contacted Lakewood police Sunday afternoon.

The Army sergeant told police the suspect then told hospital staffers he injured himself cutting parachute cord.

Police initially thought the crime may have been racially motivated, but interviews with the car's occupants -- four black and one Hispanic -- and the victim's friends indicated race was not the motivation.

Here's how the newspaper described the confrontation:

The crime does not appear to be racially motivated, although police initially believed it may have been because of the comment yelled about the soldiers being "white boys." When detectives interviewed the victims and the suspects, (Lakewood police spokesman Chris) Lawler said nobody could remember the exact comment and race was never discussed during the confrontation. Geike and the soldier who stabbed him never spoke during the altercation.

Earlier, Matthew Barnes, a soldier who was holding Geike in his arms when he died, told KIRO-TV that someone in the car had yelled "cracker" and "white" at the soldiers numerous times.

"I yelled back, 'So this is how we treat combat veterans now?' But we weren't looking for trouble, and trouble found us anyway," Barnes said. "And when police find them, I hope to God we get justice."